Pharrell, or How Susan Got on TV . . . Again

When you think of someone like the performer/producer Pharrell Williams, you might expect someone who is brash, outspoken and overconfident.  We were surprised when we attended a live AOL Build interview with Pharrell last week.  He was quiet, thoughtful and exceedingly humble.  

At first, Pharrell seemed nervous.  As the interview progressed, it became obvious that Pharrell prefers being behind the scenes, out of the limelight.  He seems to cringe when asked about his successes or about how it feels to be recognized on the street.  He described the "voicemail syndrome," that is, that people do not like listening to their own voice on voicemail. Watching himself on TV, he said, causes him to suffer from voicemail syndrome.  For that reason, he claims to have never watched himself on "The Voice".

The interview was enjoyable to watch.  Pharrell shared insights about making music (saying "anyone can write a song") and about where the music industry is headed (exponentially increasing variety and sources).

Pharrell

Susan, Sally and Greg in the audience for Pharrell's interview (upper left corner)

Seeing the interview live was a treat.  We were in the fourth row and the stage was small.  In other words, we were happy.

Susan, Sally and Greg having a happy time

Need a smile?  Click here.

What do Jane Goodall and the Upper East Side Have in Common?

That is a challenging riddle, unless you have read the recent book Primates of Park Avenue.

The author, an anthropologist, lived on the Upper East Side and decided to apply scientific principles to understand and describe the behavior of well-heeled UES women.  As you can guess, what might seem normal and de rigeur to the subjects seems a bit foreign to others.  From appearance to behavior, the book spells out what makes for a typical Park Avenue Primate.

After arriving in NYC, we noticed many of the Primates in their natural habitat, usually along Park or Madison Avenues.  In fact, we developed a game of sorts--Spot the Primate.  Here are some playing tips if you are interested:

• Giveways include blonde hair and skinny frames, plus average or above-average height (with or without heels), excellent makeup and stylish outfits that probably cost more than most people earn in a week.
• Telltale signs are Lululemon workout clothes and going in or out of the trendiest of gyms, such as SoulCycle. 
• Rarely will a Primate have a child or spouse in tow.  Naturally, the spouse is at work at a hedge fund while the children are with the nanny or in a selective school.
• On the streets, Primates walk purposefully and are usually smile-less.  It's curious about the absence of smiles.  Perhaps it is due to the burden of carrying a heavy designer bag?  

Below are some Primates captured in their habitat.  (No Primates were harmed in the taking of these photos.)

A film is planned. No joke.  MGM acquired the film rights earlier this year.  Greg is thinking the film will be a cross between The Devil Wears Prada and Entourage.  

Perhaps some enterprising person will start a Primates tour, like other NYC tours--the Gossip Girl tour, the Sex and the City tour and the Mad Men Cocktail tour.

Pop Quiz:  Which of the following are Primates of Park Avenue?

Answer:  All of the above.  (The last one is a photo of Wednesday Martin, author of Primates of Park Avenue.  Does it take one to know one?)

P.S.  As you probably know, Dr. Jane Goodall is a world-renowned anthropologist who has studied primates (chimpanzees) in Tanzania for more than half a century. Many years ago, Gary Larson published the cartoon below, which led to a negative reaction from the staff at the Jane Goodall Institute.  When Jane Goodall learned of the cartoon, she was pleased by the humor and put the matter to rest since it was all in good fun.  Apparently, Gary Larson later visited the Institute and one of the primates roughed him up a bit.  It was probably all in good fun. 

The View, or How Susan Got on TV . . . Again

Are you a devoted fan of The View?  If yes, then you might have seen Susan and Sally in the studio audience of the March 1 episode.  

The show is hosted at the ABC studios on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  Susan and Sally scored tickets for the March 1 episode and enjoyed being part of the show, especially seeing Whoopi Goldberg in person.  You know what they say about the camera adding pounds?  Well, Miss Whoopi is much smaller (and shorter) than she appears to be on screen. Who knew?

Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar

Here are some photos from the show.

Susan and Sally attend The View

Susan enjoying The View (top left corner, in teal top)

Susan and Sally in the studio of The View (top left corner, Sally clapping with raised arms)

Gramercy Park

Gramercy Park is a lovely park in Manhattan, located at East 21st Street and Lexington Avenue.  The park dates from 1831.  Although the park was once an isolated swamp, a lot of landfill yielded a 2 acre green oasis, now enveloped by the city.  The park is well-maintained and lush green year round.  

Anyone can view the park . . . through its iron spiked fence.  Unfortunately, not everyone may enter the park, since the park is private.  In fact, very few people may enter the park.  Entry is limited to local residents with the cherished, hard-to-acquire "key" to the park.  Around the park, certain houses and apartments pay an annual assessment and enjoy the right to obtain a key for an annual fee.  The assessments and fees are used to maintain the park.  If you don't reside in one of the entitled locations, "no soup for you".

Gramercy Park during Spring

Map of Gramercy Park, with the Gramercy Park Historic District outlined in blue.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule.  We recently took advantage of one of the exceptions.  On Christmas Eve, the park is opened to the general public for 2 hours to listen to a local church choir sing holiday songs.  As you can imagine, the line to enter was very long.  We listened to the choir, while we toured the 2-acre park.  The park was lovely . . . even in the dark.

Photo of holiday tree in Gramercy Park (12/24/2015)

Making Gramercy Park even more beautiful, Sally and Susan in Gramercy Park (12/24/2015)

Carolers in Gramercy Park (12/24/2015).  Note:  Coats were shed that day because the high temperature in NYC was an unseasonal 72°F.

There are other exceptions to the prohibition on non-residents entering the park.  In New York City as elsewhere, we have found there is usually an exception to most rules.  If you dig a little, you can usually find an exception. 

"Pssst.  Hey, buddy.  Want to buy a key to Gramercy Park?"

Virtual reality technology is one cool way to experience Gramercy Park from the inside.  Check it out: click here.

Another way is to visit New York and stay at the Gramercy Park Hotel.  Guests at the hotel may enter the park during their stay, with an escort.  Rooms range from more than $300/night to over $1,000/night.  (Instead of dropping major ducats, you can always stay with us and we can walk around the edge of the park together.)

The limit on access is jealousy guarded while the limit offends many.  An incident not too long ago puts the issue in perspective.  According to a Wikipedia article, in 2001, a member of the adjacent National Arts Club (who had a key and was entitled to visit the park) brought 40 or so children into the park from the nearby high school.  The children were mostly minorities.  The trustee of the park called the NYC police and claimed that the children were trespassing.  Huge mistake.  The police, not surprisingly, refused to arrest the children.  Calling the police was an expensive blunder.  A subsequent lawsuit on behalf of the children resulted in a financial settlement of $36K . . . per child.  Oops!

At the end of the day, while the park is lovely, it has a lot of rules for visitors.  "Visitors to the park . . . cannot drink alcohol, smoke, ride a bicycle, walk a dog, play ball or Frisbee, or feed the birds and squirrels."  They are taking all the fun out of visiting the park.  Let's go to Central Park instead. 

Eddie the Eagle, or How Susan Got on TV

The film Eddie the Eagle opens this week.  The film tells the underdog story of Englishman Eddie Edwards, whose dream was to represent Great Britain in ski jumping at the 1988 Winter Olympics.  It's a story of tenacity and fearlessness despite all sorts of obstacles, a story worth telling.

Film poster for Eddie the Eagle (2016).  Click here for the trailer.

With the U.S. opening of the film this week, the two stars Taron Egerton (Eggsy from The Kingsmen) and Huge Ackman (aka Hugh Jackman, aka Jack Hughman, aka Wolverine) are on the interview circuit.

 

One stop was AOL Build on Tuesday.  AOL Build is an interview series streamed live from NYC.  We scored some tickets to attend the live event and had fun seeing the actors up close.  The interview was very entertaining (click here to see the interview).  

Photo of AOL Build interview (2/23/2016), with (l. to r.) Eddie the Eagle film director Dexter Fletcher, Taron Egerton and Wolverine

Susan and Greg even make a brief appearance on screen in the first couple of minutes. 

Screen capture from AOL Build interview (2/23/2016)

The Tale of the Green Glove

People who live in New York City have a reputation.  For some, NYC is a place filled with people rushing here and there, people who are loud and offensive, people who are uncaring and people who "consider eye contact to be an act of aggression".

For others, NYC is a very different kind of place--a place where unexpected acts of kindness are commonplace, a place where people love their neighborhood and city, and a place where a little courtesy will take you far.  

A case in point.  Not long ago, Susan and Greg were catching a subway train to the west side of Manhattan.  

Lexington Avenue Station of the N, Q, R Line

As she hurried down the stairs into the tunnel, Susan realized she had dropped one of her gloves--one half of a favorite pair of gloves she'd had for 20 years.  Since we had to be somewhere on time, we did not double back to look for the missing glove.  It was rush hour, and hundreds (maybe thousands) of commuters were crowding into the station.  We told ourselves the glove was simply lost for good.  Too bad.

The Green Glove

Later that night, Greg returned on the subway and stopped in the station to look for the glove.  No glove was on the platform, no glove was on the stairs, no glove could be seen anywhere.  Then, just as Greg was leaving the station, he spotted the glove, which had been carefully placed on a ticket machine near the exit.  Some stranger had thoughtfully picked up the glove to prevent it from being trampled, muddied, and ruined and placed it where it would be found.  Susan and the glove were reunited.  Who'd have thought it?!?!

For us, NYC is the kind of place where unexpected acts of kindness are commonplace.  

Halfway Mark

Today is March 1, 2016.  Why is the date important?  We have reached the midpoint of Year 1 of the 10 Year Plan.  That means 6 more months in New York City and only 6 months until we start Year 2 in Italy.


We have a lot we still want to do here in NYC, plus many friends and family members will visit in the next several months. We doubt we will check off every item on our list or complete all the new items we are constantly adding.  Because New York has so much to offer, we are wondering if we need to return here in Year 6 or 7.  We will see what tomorrow brings.

Planning for Year 2 in Italy is underway, as we are scouting locations to live, cataloging places to visit and things to experience, procrastinating with our Italian lessons, and so forth.

183 days to Florence and counting

Lastly, we thank everyone for reading our blog.  We try to keep it interesting and occasionally funny.  Sometimes we succeed.  Sometimes not so much.  If there is a topic you want to hear about, please let us know. 

In any event, please stay tuned.  More to come.